Emergency draft-gear.



I. S. DOWNING.

`[EMERGENCY DRAFT GEAR. APPLICATION HLED'MAR. 1. |911.

Patented May 29, 1917.

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l. s'. uojwmNG. EMERGENCYDRFT GEAR. APPlfICATION- FILED 'MAR.`7. |917.

1,228,005.' I v Patented May 29, 1917.

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IEA s.Y DOWNING, or mninivnronis, IANDIANA. r

EMERGENCY DEAETeEAE.

ApplicationA led March 7, 1917. Serial No. 153,0'68.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, 4IRA S. DOWNING, a

citizen of the United States, residing at In-v dianapolis, in the countyof Marion and State of Indiana, have invented certain new, and usefulImprovements in Emergency Draft-Gears, of which the following is alspecification.

The invention relates to emergency draft gear devices designed for usein case of accif It has for its. principal object; the provision of asimpley dent to the regular draft.

construction, (1) which can be easily and readily applied withoutreturning the car to a repair point, (2) which shall be'sub-Y with it orto the cars with which the equipped car is used, and (4L) which shall bemuch more secure than the temporary repair means commonly used and whichat the same time may be applied with only slighty delay and with thetools ordinarily available on a train. Certain embodiments of theinvention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, whereinl Figure1 is a longitudinal section through one end of a car provided with myinvention showing the coupler partially in side elevation and partiallyin section; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the coupler taken by itself; Fig. 3is a side elevation view showing the application of a modification ofthe coupler to'a car; and Fig. t is a partial plan view of theconstruction shown in Fig. 3.

rEhe construction is designed to occupy the space ordinarily occupied bythe regular draft gear and comprises a yoke adapted to be secured to thecoupler shank and provided with means for attaching the coupler to thecar truck or to the connection between the car truck and the car body.The construction is so designed that it may readily be applied uponremoving the regular `draft gear and jacking up the body of the carslightly. After the emergency draft gear has been applied, it may beused an indenite period as it has substantially the strength of theordinary draft gear. The car may, therefore, be

used as long as is desired before returning it Specification of. LettersPatent.

to the car. shops for the application of thev regular draft gear.Referring to the construction of Figs. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1designates the lower portion of the car body carrying upon its underside the usual center sills 2lbetween the ends of which it is customaryto mount the draft gear; 3 is the car truck havingthe end axle 1 andinner axle 5 and provided with the ybearing member-6opposingthe bearingmember 7 carried by the car body;

and 8 is the usual pin extending throughthe bearing members 6 and 7.

The emergency draft gear comprises a yoke), preferably of cast steel,and havinga rearwardly extending shank or extension 10 formed sothat'its rear end may fit between the bearing members'6 and-7. Theupper` portion of the rear end of the extension 10 is recessed asillustrated, so as to interlock with the bearing member 7, andthe pin 8extends through the two bearing members 6 and 7, and the interposed' endof the extension 10.

The forward end of the yoke 9 is providedv with a slot, and the `shank11 of the coupler may be secured in the yoke by means of a key '12extending throughl the. slotted yoke and through the rear end ofthecoupler shank. The coupler and itsfshank may be of the ordinary standardtype.

In orderto provi le for the support of the.

yoke from beneath, the strut13 is employed, such strut beingv secured atits forwarclend to the yoke by means of the p in 14.. The rear of thestrut 13 is secured to the end axle 4 of the truck by means of thetwo-part axle collar 15 and the bolt 16, such bolt 16 extending throughthe lugs carried by the collar. Lying inside the collar is a bushing 17of cast iron or other relatively soft metal. kThe strut 13 not onlyserves to supportth'e yoke against downward movement but also reinforcesthe holding action of the extension 10 when the yoke is either incompression or under tension. The` lower portion of the yoke carryingthe pin 14 'is also provided with a shelf 19 extending beneath the shankof the coupler-and the position of the cou* pler shank may be adjustedvertically by means of the insertion of wedges or plates 20 of wood orother material.

described, the regulation draft gear is fir removed from the car afterthe Patented May 29, 1917.

19,5... In applying the emergency gear as abovef.v

body is Vjacked up to separate the bearing members 6 and 7 and the yokeis positioned with its rear end between the bearing members 6 and 7, atwhich time the ller plate 18 is also inserted to increase the bearingsurface upon the lower side of the end of the extension. The pin 8 isthen applied and the strut 18 is secured to the axle 4, thus completingthe installation of the yoke to which the coupler shank may be attachedin the manner heretofore described.

Figs. 3 and 4 illustrate al modification wherein the yoke is built upof'wrought metal straps and wood, the general construction being alongthe same lines as the first type of constructionv except that the strutis replaced by support which bears 'con' of the end axle.

As illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, the yoke comprises a pair of sections2l and 22 with the interposed wood block 23, the forward ends of themembers 21 and 22 being riveted to the rear end of the coupler shank 24.rIhe rear end of the plate or strap 22 is extended and lies between thebearing members 25 and 26 carried respectively by the truck and carbody, a pin 27 being extended through the end of the plate 22 and thetwo bearing members. The support upon the axle 28 of the truck is formedby the two straps 29 and 30 riveted in position as illustrated, so thatthe coupler mechanism is supported from beneath by the axle 28. Theimprovement might be embodied in a number of different forms but theforegoing will be suflicient to illustrate the principle of 'theinvention. Y

`What I claim is:

l. In combination, an emergency draft gear, comprising a coupler holdingmember adapted to occupy the space between.

the draftsills of a car, an extension secured at its rear end upon thecar truck, and a strut between the end axle of the truck and the saidmember.

2. In combination, an emergency draft gear, comprising a coupler holdingmember adapted to occupy the space between the draft sills of a car, anextension secured at its rear end at the connection between the cartruck and body of the car, and a strut between the end axle of the truckand the said member.

3. In combination, an emergency draft gear, comprising a yoke adapted tooccupy the space between the draft sills of a car, an extension with itsrear end encircling the truck pin, and a support between the yoke andthe front axle of the truck.

4. In combination, an emergency draft gear, comprising a yoke adapted to'occupy the space between the draft sills of a car, an extension securedat its rear end at the connection between the car truck and body of thecar, and a strut secured at its front end to the yoke and provided atits rear end with securing means encircling the end axle of the truck.

5. In combination, an emergency draft gear, comprising a yoke adapted tooccupy the space between the draft sills of a car, an extension securedat its rear end at the connection between the car truck and body of thecar, a collar encircling the end axle of the truck, and a brace betweensuch collar and the yoke.

6. In combination, an emergency draft l gear, comprising a yoke adaptedto occupy the space between the draft sills of a car, a rearwardextension for the yoke having its rear end clamped between the car truckand the body of the car, and a support for the yoke upon the end axle ofthe truck.

IRA S. DOINING.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

